Gloves Off as Jacob Zuma Accuses President Ramaphosa of Treason

In a news conference at a Sandton hotel on Saturday (22 October), former President Jacob Zuma lashed out at current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zuma said “your president has committed treason” but everyone remains silent. “No president should conduct private business while in office. It’s not allowed,” he said.

Zuma said Ramaphosa is abusing the office of the president to conduct private business. “I’m assuming that what President Ramaphosa has said about the many dollars under his bed – or furniture – is true, that he conduct private business while serving as president of our country. That on its own is unconstitutional.”

Zuma said “I often wonder what the situation would have been if I was the one accused of having millions of dollars hidden under my mattress”. He said Rampahosa has been selling the country off for “global commercial interests”.

Zuma also laid into Chief Justice Zondo, who presided over the Commission of Enquiry into State Capture. He accused Zondo of having “abused the powers of the constitutional court by having me sentenced to one year in prison without a trial. My crime was only to refuse to cooperate with an unlawful commission of inquiry.”

On loadshedding, the former President said: “In 2015 my government ended loadshedding until I left office at the start of 2018. This loadshedding was stopped for three years, in the time of professionals such as Mr Brian Molefe and Matshela Koko. Some of you will remember I even declared in a statement there will never be load shedding again (BUT) it started imedaitely after certain agreements were concluded with independent power producers,and has never stopped since then. Why does the correct leadership fail to get a handle on the issues of Eskom? Why? It is public knowledge that a few of these power producers had invested millions into the campaign of one of the candidates at the 2017 NASREC conference…”

Zuma was not the only former SA president to speak out in the past 24 hours. Thabo Mbeki gave a keynote address at the Strategic Dialogue Group AGM. He implied that Ramaphosa has failed the country, and said: “You want a renewed ANC led by criminals, what is that?”

Meanwhile former SA President Kgalema Motlanthe said in a speech on Friday at the forum being held by his Foundation in the Drakensberg that SA and the world are living through worrying times, and urged that: “The time for ideas and the time to exchange has never been more pressing for the survival of democracy and humanity than it is now. All markers point to a precipice. And from here, on the edge of the Drakensberg mountains, we may observe how far the cliff edge falls for all. This forum is an urgent invitation to all sectors of society to respond to the situation they find themselves in.”

Not one of the former presidents acknowledged having made any mistakes themselves to have got the ANC and the country into the state it’s in.

Political observers noted that today was a declaration of ‘war’ by Zuma against Ramaphosa in the race for party leadership.

One social media user observed: “Suddenly Ubaba is no longer terminally sick. He tells us that he is FIT and proper to stand for any position in the ANC conference. Is this not a man who ran away from the prison claiming that he was terminally sick? HAIBO!!!!”

"I often wonder what the situation would have been if I was the one accused of having millions of dollars hidden under my mattress"#Zuma Nxamalala pic.twitter.com/34hBVuybgk

— Jones Mzizi (@jonesmzizi) October 22, 2022

#Zuma accuses #Ramaphosa of treason. 😳🇿🇦 https://t.co/NvMzCfDihN

— Tim Modise (@TimModise) October 22, 2022

I watched Jacob Zuma’s press conference, you would swear he still president.
He is saying the things that the current ANC leaders are scared of saying. Cyril is selling the country without anyone questioning him.
All the civil society groups, including churches are quiet #Zuma

— The Native (@FedixM) October 22, 2022

The gloves are off. The rapist from Nkandla is attacking President Ramaphosa. It is imperative for every South African to stand with President Ramaphosa more than ever before as the criminal RET/EFF cabal want to hijack this country. ITS A DECLARATION OF WAR. #Renew22 #Zuma

— Goolam (@goolammv) October 22, 2022

SA’s Transport Minister tweeted:

They all spoke today my leaders. pic.twitter.com/8HxXq5XfH3

— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) October 22, 2022